There is a scene in one of the “Lord of The Rings” movies that has always stuck with me and meant a great deal to me. In the second film, “The Two Towers,” there is a scene towards the end with Sam and Frodo. In this scene, Frodo is reaching his breaking point. He has come to the end of his ability to keep fighting, and he almost hands the precious ring over to the enemy by his own free will. Sam quickly comes to his rescue and delivers him when he was not in his right mind. Right after this, Frodo says to Sam, “I can’t do this anymore.” Sam begins to sympathize with Frodo and talk about how tired he is too. But rather than agreeing with Frodo in complete desperation and hopelessness, Sam explains something I think many of us have a hard time holding onto. Sam says,

I know, it’s all wrong, by rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened........ But I think Mr. Frodo, I understand, I know now, folk in those stories had lots of chances at turning back only they didn’t, they kept going, because they were holding on to something.

We all have lots of chances at “turning back” and quitting in life. We all have the chance to give up on people. We have the chance to quit on our marriages when they seem impossible. We have the opportunity to give up on our kids when parenting is so hard. We have the opportunity to give up on sharing the gospel with our friend who just won’t believe in Jesus. We have the opportunity to give up and stop trusting God when it seems like God won’t give us a spouse we have been praying for.

I know this is a struggle that hits pretty close to home for me. It is in my natural, sinful tendencies to quit when things get hard. When I know I’m not going to succeed, or I’m going to fail, or I simply can’t do what I need to do, it is easy for me to withdraw and give up.

As I’ve been reflecting on this, one of the things that has struck me deeply about our King Jesus is he had infinite opportunities to quit and give up throughout his life. How easy could it have been for Jesus to go through all the things he went through, and say, “I’m out. I’m done. I’m not going to the cross. Good luck figuring this one out humans.” He could have called legions of angels down to earth to annihilate the whole human race when they were beating, mocking, spitting, and tormenting him. He could have so easily give up.

But he didn’t! He kept going. Why? Because he was holding onto something. What was he holding onto?  Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy that was set before him (Jesus) endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus was holding onto the promises of God. He was holding onto doing the will of his Father. And he was holding onto the hope that through him you and I might join him in paradise with God for all eternity!

Is life hard? You bet life is hard. It’s a lot like what Matt Chandler says, “if you don’t think life is hard, you just haven’t lived long enough.” I would never want to minimize the pain and hardships many are walking through right now. But as a brother in Christ, I would call you to not give up and not quit.

Don’t quit praying for your friend who doesn’t know Jesus.

Don’t quit going after your kid’s hearts, begging God to make them mature disciples of Jesus.

Don’t quit loving your wife like Christ loves the church.

Don’t quit praying God would provide a spouse for you.

Don’t quit praying for God to abolish sex-slave trafficking in our world.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “this light momentary affliction is preparing us for a weight of glory beyond all comparison.” Allow God to do in you whatever it is He is trying to do in you through your difficulties. He wants us to look more like his precious son, Jesus. Stay the course!